The North Carolina Conference is one of 63 conferences of The United Methodist Church in the United States. Conferences are geographical areas organized under the leadership of a bishop who is responsible for appointing clergy to serve local churches as pastor, performing ordinations, and safeguarding the doctrine and discipline of the Church as developed by the General Conference. The Reverend Alfred Wesley (Al) Gwinn, Jr. was appointed bishop of the North Carolina Conference in 2004 and reappointed in 2008.

The North Carolina Conference encompasses 56 counties in eastern North Carolina from Elon to the coast and from the South Carolina border to the Virginia border. Each conference is divided into districts, each under the leadership of a district superintendent. The district superintendent’s primary responsibilities relate to overseeing the work of the local churches and supervising the work of the pastors, including participating with the bishop in the making of pastoral appointments.

Membership in the North Carolina Conference in 2007 was approximately 237,000 persons worshiping in 836 churches within twelve districts in eastern North Carolina.

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